Visiting Caister Castle Car Collection
My final July 2025 travel story; I took many, many photos!
In July 2025, I travelled to a few places in England with my eldest son, as covered in previous stories.
First, we visited Bletchley Park and London by train. Then, we went to Lowestoft, Southwold, Great Yarmouth, and Caister-on-Sea by car.
This piece concludes the series.
(See Travel for more.)
Time to head home — after one last stop
The Travelodge in Lowestoft was basic but satisfactory for our two-night stay. On our final morning, which was a rainy Thursday, we had ‘Breakfast to Go’ in our rooms again. It took a while to get the food because the reception was deserted, and I ended up phoning the hotel!
After checking out, rather than heading straight home, we took a detour and spent the morning at Caister Castle Car Collection.
All photos taken by Alan J. Edmonds.
In the past, photography at Caister Castle Car Collection was not permitted, but they relaxed their rules in recent years. The staff saw us taking photos and did not stop us, and an online search confirmed the rule change.
Prompt arrival
It only took about 30 minutes to drive from the hotel to Caister Castle, and we arrived just in time for it to open at 10 am.
Cars and more
Caister Castle Car Collection features more than 120 cars and 100 bikes, plus countless other interesting items. (See Caister Castle Website for more.)
As soon as we walked inside, we realised there wasn’t enough time to explore it in any great depth. Perhaps that’s why my son and I took over 500 photos between us!
There’s no way I can share that many photos here, but hopefully what follows will give you a taste of it.
After selecting a subset of my photos, I grouped them as best I could. (The groupings are based on suggestions from Google Gemini; while I don’t use AI for writing, it is useful for that kind of thing.)
Early years (1893–1913)
Many of the early vehicles looked like horse-drawn carriages.
Seeing an electric car from as early as 1903 was a surprise! (I later found out the first electric cars were developed even earlier, in the 1800s.) It was also interesting to see some steam-powered cars.
Studying the unusual controls and primitive braking systems was much easier in person, rather than from photos.
Panhard Et Levassor, 1893
Decauville, circa 1898
Benz Velo, 1899
Locomobile Steamer Two Seater Runabout, 1900
City and Suburban Electric Car, 1903
Rover Two Seater Tourer, 1905
Delaunay-Belleville Limousine, 1913
Built for speed
My pick from these would be the RX-7 for its unusual rotary engine. Then again, how could I say no to the Ferrari? Maybe I’d better stop trying to choose…
Bentley Blower, 1929
Cooper 500 Racing Car and Hill Climber, circa 1955
BRM H16 Grand Prix Racing Car, 1966
Lotus 33 R14 Grand Prix Racing Car, 1966
Mazda RX-7, 1980
Ferrari 328, 1988
Early Fords (1919–1958)
I’ve owned a lot of Fords in my 40 years of driving, but never any as old as these.
Ford Model T Butcher’s Delivery Van, 1919
Ford Woodie Wagon, possibly 1937 — I didn’t note the year (behind a Morgan Super Aero Sports Three Wheeler)
Ford Anglia Saloon, 1948 — I thought this was a Ford Popular at first
Ford Anglia 100E Saloon, 1958
Interwar years (1926–1934)
Sometimes I forget how long Fiat and Peugeot have been around.
Fiat 501 Tourer, 1922
Peugeot, 1926
Austin Seven Cutaway, 1928
Austin Seven Chummy Tourer, 1927, and Miscellaneous
MG J2 Midget Two Seater Sports, 1932 and MG J1 Midget Four Seater Sports, 1933
Austin Seven, 1934, and Heinkel, 1957
Cinema and luxury
The ‘film cars’ below were made for the opening sequences of the film Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang.
The Rolls-Royce reminded me of the car I travelled in on my wedding day.
White Film Car, 1925
Red Film Car, 1935 — as above
Cadillac Saloon, 1951
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, 1967
Relatively modern
These cars are much more familiar. My sister’s first car was a Mini 850. I’ve owned and driven several Ford Fiestas and two Escorts. And my first car was a Fiat 126. (See my Car Memories series.)
I remember when the Sinclair C5 was launched. While I loved Sinclair’s early computers and have written about the ZX Spectrum, ZX81 and QL, it was clear that the C5 was too small and flimsy for use in heavy traffic.
Mini 850, 1959
First Ford Fiesta Hatchback Produced, 1977
Austin Allegro, 1977
Sinclair C5, 1985
Citroen 2CV, 1988
Fiat 126 Bis, 1988
Ford Escort Popular, 1988
Renault 5, 1994
Two wheels
My favourite item in the whole place was the Puch Moped, because my dad (who never owned a car) had a blue one in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. In all my family photos, there isn’t a single photo of it, so it was great to see one again. Unfortunately, it was further away than most other items, so I could not see it up close or from the side.
Velocipede Bicycle, circa 1865, and Crypto Bantam, circa 1892
Raleigh Bicycle with Cyclemaster Engine Unit, circa 1947
Motorised Bicycles
Numerous Motorcycles, including Norton, BSA, and Nimbus
Puch Moped, 1973
Benelli Sei 750, Kawasaki Z1000, 1979, Honda Goldwing, 1976
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, 1990
Toys
There were dozens of cute toys on display. The last photo in this section is a Jomoro Lotus Child’s Racing Car, 1972.
Service and utility
I was surprised to see the Harrods electric van, which dates back over 100 years!
Merryweather ‘The Princess Alice’ Fire Engine, circa 1912
Harrods Electric Van, 1914
Showman’s Trailer, 1935
BSA AA Patrol, 1960
Pre-car
Lord Gainsborough’s Continental Touring Chariot, 1841
Gentleman’s Brougham (possibly 1860s–1890s)
Random items
I liked how there were dozens of other items to see. I’m sure that Marie, my late wife, would have been interested in the Singer Treadle sewing machine, in addition to all the cars.
Almost time to leave
With a 6-hour return journey ahead of us, we had to keep an eye on the time.
Leaving after two hours was hard. It would have been easy to stay for much longer, especially as the staff were so friendly and knowledgeable.
Before heading back to the car, we wandered through the grounds and went to look at the castle.
Caister Castle
The main thing that remains of the 15th-century castle is the tower, which is almost 100 ft tall.
Climbing the tower
My son did not want to climb up to the top, but I could not resist! Here are the photos.
Entrance
Spiral staircase
Looking up at one of the floors
Views at the top (x 3)
Time for tea
The on-site cafe did not seem to cater for main meals, so we only stopped there for drinks before heading back to the car.
Lunch on the way home
With limited mobile phone coverage in the area, we left without a clear idea of where to stop for lunch. As I drove away from the site, my son found a suitable pub (The Fieldfair in Norwich) and directed us there.
The most notable thing about our visit was a woman at a nearby table with her family. She did not stop talking for a second — even after their food arrived! (I wonder if I included that kind of thing in Alan’s Annoyances?)
The end
That concludes my July 2025 travel stories. I hope you enjoyed them — and I’m glad I finished before July 2026!
Thank you for reading!
~ Alan ~
Very cool! I love classic cars!